New Delhi: Four organizations have been recognized as India's most innovative and named as the recipients of the Thomson Reuters India Innovation Awards 2012. Those awarded were Tata Consultancy Services (in the hi-tech corporate category), department of biotechnology, India (pharma academic and government category), Cipla (pharma corporate category), and Indian Institute of Science (hi-tech academic and government category).

The award was presented by guest of honour, Mr Harkesh Kumar Mittal, adviser and member secretary, National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) and secretary, Technology Development Board (TDB), across four different industrial sectors. The ceremony was attended by more than 150 guests. First established in 2007, the awards recognize the most innovative academic institutions and commercial enterprises headquartered in India for their spirit of innovation in R&D. 

Mr Vinay Singh, director, India, intellectual property and science business, Thomson Reuters, said that, "Innovation drives economic growth and success. Thomson Reuters is pleased to recognize India's collective achievements in innovation as Indian companies and research organisations expand their global footprint and research influence rapidly in an increasingly complex and competitive environment. We congratulate all the award recipients for their continuous innovation and high value add to their respective fields of expertise."

Mr Bob Stembridge, manager, customer relations, intellectual property and science business, Thomson Reuters, said that, "The importance of intellectual property as a major source of economic and technological development in India is demonstrated by the increasing creativity and impact of Indian research and technology throughout the world. The last five years have seen a substantial increase in patenting activity from 28,940 applications in 2007 to over 39,400 applications in 2011 at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2 percent."

To foster this increase, the Indian Patent Office joined the patent offices of US, Japan, South Korea, China and the European Union in offering online filing for trademark and patent applications. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) dominates the ranking table of the top 10 patent assignees for all Indian inventions with over 5,800 inventions from 1975 until date.